Sanctuary
by TheLostMaximoff
Summary: Meier reflects on his love for Charlotte and the obstacles that threaten their relationship.


Sanctuary

By TheLostMaximoff

Disclaimer: These characters I do not own. Not much to say about Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust except that I liked Meier and Charlotte. R/R.

I have lived a very long life and also a very lonely one. After all, I was born not just a vampire but one of noble and aristocratic blood. I was thrust into the upper realms of society at a very young age, relatively speaking. It is very lonely when you are the uppermost class of a dying species. Very lonely indeed.

It is a strange sensation to not be alive. It is, however, one I've had to deal with my entire life. I have never had a pulse or a beating heart to create one. I have never felt hunger or thirst beyond my craving for blood nor have I ever needed sleep unless the sun was up. I have never felt strong emotions such as joy, sorrow, anguish, or love. Those feelings were mortal feelings, human feelings. I was bred for better things than that. I once believed all that until I met her.

My hand lightly touches Charlotte's delicate skin. She sleeps so peacefully here in my coffin with me. It's as if she has grown accustomed to the eccentricities of my nature so quickly they might as well be her own. She belongs here in this box with me. She belongs safe in my arms, locked away from the world where no one can take her from me. I retract those thoughts. I am better than that.

Charlotte. Her name is lyrical, a name that rolls beautifully off the tongue when spoken. It is not a course, monosyllabic name such as Meier. No, it is wonderful in all its musical, polysyllabic glory. It is the name of an angel, a goddess. It is the name of my love, my soul personified in the form of the treasure sleeping so soundly in my arms.

My fingers caress the pure, ivory skin of her shoulder. Pure. She is pure in all senses of the word. It is strange to feel so much for this girl, this mere human. I know what other members of my kind consider humans, what I have considered humans for a very long time. Humans are cattle. They are food sources and are given no more thought by us than they themselves would give a leg of lamb or a roast turkey. Humans are objects sought for immediate gratification of hunger and perhaps sometimes even pleasure but they remain objects nonetheless. Vampires do not love humans. The very concept of such a thing is grotesque, obscene, and worst of all it is base and vulgar. Vampires are superior creatures and must accordingly breed with equally superior creatures of their own race. To breed with a human would defile the blood of our species.

Yet knowing all this, knowing all the scorn and ridicule I will face, I still love this girl. It is the first love I have ever felt in my long life. It is a love so pure I would face all of heaven and hell so long as I had her by my side. I could spend another thousand lifetimes and never would I find a feeling like this. She is my one, my kindred soul. Never will I forsake her.

The warmth of her body feels strange against my stone-cold skin. My fingers travel upward, traversing the heavenly course to her neck. I press gently and feel her pulse. I feel the hot blood rushing through her veins.

We will be safe soon from all those that hunt us. Soon we will be in the City of the Night where we will not have to endure the cursed plague of bounty hunters who want to exterminate me. We will be together forever. No, not forever. The warmth of her blood reminds me of her flaw, of her humanity. She is mortal and someday she will die. This fact gnaws at my mind, taunts me cruelly until I am almost driven to madness. I could remedy all of this. It would all be so simple. I hear the low thump of her heartbeat now. I can almost taste the sweet, coppery flavor of her blood. So simple, so easy. One little bite and this will be forever.

My mind recoils so violently from these notions my hand jerks away from her as if she were made of pure sunlight. She stirs slightly but does not wake. I mentally berate myself for once again having such animalistic desires.

My feeling for Charlotte Elbourne is love and love is, by definition, a selfless emotion capable of only higher beings. I am no animal, not since she came into my life. To turn her into the monster I am would be to take the fundamental, radiant purity she possesses and taint it on an irrevocable level. To bite her would be a selfish act committed out of lust and lecherous desires. I would steal her innocence for the self-centered purpose of wanting to keep her to myself. I was bred to be above all these base tendencies. I am noble and though I may be fallen I will not drag her down into darkness with me.

"Meier," she whispers sleepily. My inner turmoil momentarily subsides as I focus my attention on her.

"Yes, my love," I answer. She looks up at me with eyes that are angelic. Her eyes are a deep, soft brown that reassures me I have made the right decision. I have never really seen eyes that were any color other than blood red. I enjoy the difference immensely.

"How long until we're there?" she asks as she snuggles against me.

"Soon, Charlotte," I tell her, "Very soon."

"I had a wonderful dream just now," she tells me, "It was about the night we first met. Do you remember that night?"

"Of course I do," I reply in response, "It was in the garden of your family's house. I heard you singing to yourself. You have the most wonderful voice, my darling. It drew me to you."

"I didn't think anyone was there," she explains, "but when I saw you there in the moonlight I could no longer find the words to the song anymore. I could barely breathe at all."

I remember that night well. Personal business took me into town. I had just finished feeing and was in the process of returning home. When I passed by the gardens of her family's house and heard her singing everything else fell away even my partially satiated lust for blood. I now craved only to hear more of her voice, to somehow see her indescribable beauty. That night was the night I learned that everything I had known was a lie. Humans were not cattle. How low could a species be if they could produce a creature of such sophisticated splendor? By feeding on them, I was no more superior to humans than a lion is to a zebra. In the end, I was a stupid animal. She made me realize that while I am not a human I am still a man. She made me aspire to be better than some wanton savage who commits cold-blooded murder out of pure animalistic instinct.

"I still have that rose you gave me that night," Charlotte tells me, "Meier, I knew from the moment I first saw you that I loved you and I still do with all my heart." She closes her eyes now and rests against me. My fingers find their way into the soft, brown curls of her hair and begin to gently stroke her head.

"And I you," I whisper to her softly, "Rest now, my love. Soon our tiresome journey will be through." I feel her heartbeat slow as she slips back into a deep slumber. My fingers absently trace a line back to her neck. She has offered herself to me before and while part of my mind enjoys this notion another part finds it absolutely disgusting.

Her body is so close now. I can taste her blood on my lips again. So addictive, so tantalizing. Again my mind banishes such thoughts. It's then that I realize something. She has taught me another painful lesson. Even if we were to flee to the City of the Night, her innocence will not be safe. Although we will be happy together, our love will be shrouded by these animal tendencies that gnaw at me. We could run to any place on Earth or off it and still she would be in danger. There is no place in existence that can hide her from the monster inside me. As long as I am with her, there will never be any sanctuary for either of us.


End file.
